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Norman Rolls
(1200-1417)The dukedom of Normandy is one of the appendages of the English crown, but actual possession of the dukedom was actively contested by the kings of France. During the periods of English power records were kept for Normandy similar to those of the royal administration in England, with enrolment of letters and grants of liberties and privileges and confirmations of previous enjoyed rights. The rolls for 1200 to 1205 and during the reassertion of English rule under Henry V in 1417, were edited by Thomas Duffus Hardy for the Commissioners of the Public Records, and published in 1835. Most of the persons mentioned are French inhabitants of Normandy or Englishmen in France, but there is also a long section (from page 122 onwards) of valuation of lands of Normans in England, where English jurors, county by English county, attest to acreage, numbers of cattle &c.

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Early records of Wells cathedral, in Somerset
(1001-1500)Three early registers of the dean and chapter of Wells - the Liber Albus I (White Book; R I), Liber Albus II (R III), and Liber Ruber (Red Book; R II, section i) - were edited by W. H. B. Bird for the Historical Manuscripts Commissioners and published in 1907. These three books comprise, with some repetition, a cartulary of possessions of the cathedral, with grants of land dating back as early as the 8th century, well before the development of hereditary surnames in England; acts of the dean and chapter; and surveys of their estates, mostly in Somerset.

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Lichfield Diocese Ordinations: Subdeacons Secular
(1509)The diocese of Coventry and Lichfield at this period included the whole of Cheshire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire; all Lancashire south of the Ribble; northern Shropshire (including Shrewsbury); and northern Warwickshire (including Birmingham and Coventry). Ordinations took place on the four Ember Saturdays in the year, and on certain other occasions; lists of ordinands to the degrees of acolyte, subdeacon, deacon and priest were preserved in the ordination registers, a distinction being made between those clerks who were 'regular', i. e., monks, friars, &c., and those who were 'secular', the main body of the clergy. All ordinands were celibate, and those regular, and the secular who obtained benefices, remained so, but only a minority of the secular ordinands ever obtained benefices, and most will doubtless have married later in life. No man might be ordained to subdeacon or higher without proving either that he was of independent means or that he was sponsored by an institution or a gentleman. Most entries in the register of such ordinations therefore have the words 'ad titulum' followed by the name of the religious house that was the sponsor. This is an important indication of the man's origins - boys whose families were monastic tenants, and who were educated by the monks, would naturally be sponsored by the abbey. Only men who were born and bred in the diocese could be ordained by the bishop, unless producing letters dimissory from the bishop of the diocese of their birth. These are the ordinations celebrated on Ember Saturday, 22 September 1509, by Thomas bishop of Panados (Pavados), suffragan of bishop Geoffrey Blythe, in Lichfield cathedral.

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Inhabitants of Nottingham
(1485-1547)The muniments of the borough of Nottingham include extensive mediaeval archives. A selection from these from the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII was prepared and edited by W. H. Stevenson for the Corporation, and printed, with translations of the passages in Latin, in 1885. The principal sources used are the borough Court Books, largely dealing with civil cases, for which an almost complete series survives for this period; Sessions Rolls (92 survive for the two reigns), in which crimes and misdemeanours are recorded; a Mickletorn or Leet jury roll; detailed chamberlains' and bridge-wardens' accounts; and the Hall Books, or council minutes. There are lists of burgesses enrolled; bakers admitted to bake; and fines for licences to trade. A subsidy roll of 1523-4 lists householders by street, and there is an appendix of local deeds, including some material dating back to the 14th century.

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Liegemen and Traitors, Pirates and Spies
(1547-1550)The Privy Council of Edward VI was responsible for internal security in England and Wales, and dealt with all manner of special and urgent matters

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Tradesmen of Chester
(1392-1805)Lists of admissions of freemen of the city of Chester from the earliest surviving records to 1805 were compiled by J. H. E. Bennett and published by the Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society from 1906. These lists were extracted from the mayoral yearbooks (dating back to 1392) and twelve freemen's rolls covering 1538 to 1612 and 1636 to 1805; and a list of admissions for 1505-1506 in Harleian MS 2105 (British Library). The record does not become more or less continuous until about 1490: in all, 12,426 freedoms are recorded. Freedom of the city, necessary to practise a trade in the city, could be obtained by birth (in which case the father's name and occupation are usually given); by apprenticeship to a freeman (the master's name and occupation being given); or by order of assembly. Both the freemen and the masters listed are indexed here. The main abbreviations used are: B, freedom taken up by right of birth; I, freedom taken up by right of indenture; M. B., Mayor's Book; *, freedom granted by order of assembly.